Hobbyhorse



P65. 22, 1949. H. KUPPIN 2,462,648

HOBBY HORSE Filed Feb. 6, 1946 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z INVENTOR.

fiz'mz'ler flap/ w A T TORN E Y.

H. KUPPIN- HOBBY HORSE Feb, 22, 1949.

Filed Feb. 6, 194e,

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR: b27551??- ffi/PPM ATTORNEY,

Patented Feb. 22, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HOBBYHORSE HerbertKuppin, Piqua, Ohio Application February 6, 1946, Serial-N0. 645,892

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to toys, and particularly to a rocking toy duck.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a rocking toy that achild can sit upon, and to which he can impart areal and effortlessrocking motion by alternately shifting the center of gravity of thetoyalong a median line drawn from front to rear.

Another object is to provide a rocking toy with rollers so placed on thefront and rear thereof that, if the motion is great enough in theprocess of rocking, the rollers will touch the floor and produce arapidscooter-like forward or backward movement of the top, depending uponwhich roller is touching the floor.

A further object is to provide a rocking toy that can be used in themanner of a sled, since its structure is such that its rockers may serveas runners or gliders on snow or ice.

Still another object is to provide a rocking toy of simple but ruggedconstruction that can be inexpensively manufactured out of bent metalbar stock or tubing.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from a reading of the following description and claims,together with the accompanying drawing, in which like parts are referredto and indicated by like reference characters and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of-the rocking toy;

Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figure 3 is a front elevation thereof;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of one of the body members;

Figure 5 is a schematic representation of the v operation of the devicein achieving forward movement;

Figure 6 is a section through one of the body members, taken along theline and in the direction of the arrows 6- 6 of the Figure 4; and

Figure '7 is a section through one of the body members, taken along theline and in the direction of the arrows l'l of the Figure 4.

The rocking toy constituting this invention is made essentially of twoparts; a body portion, and a saddle portion, each of which will bedescribed in detail hereinafter and in the order just stated.

The body portion is composed of two angularly opposed body members,broadly indicated "by the reference numeral H] in the Figure 1, whichare preferably made of tubular steel, although any material possessingthe required ductility and rigidity may be used.

The body member [I] is made of a single piece of tubular steel whosecentral section is bent to form the curved bottom l3. One of the endsections is then bent to form the front end I2, the forward half of thetop portion II, which is parallel to the base of the body member, andthe inclined. brace or strut [6, which is formed by bending the tubedownward at'an angle of approximately thirty degrees to meet the curvedbottom l3. This is most'clearly shown in the Figure '7. h

The other end section is bent to form the rear end M, the rear half ofthe top portion l l, which is parallel to the base of the body member,and the stirrup portion" I5, which is made by bending the tube downward,outward'and again'downward at an angle of approximately thirty degreesto meet the curved bottom" l3. This is most clearly shown-in the Figure6. The two ends of the tube touching the curved bottom l3 are weldedthereto; as indicated at points 21 and of the drawmgs;

The two body members are scecured together at two'points' along theirtop portionsby means of the front clamp 23 and the rear clamp 24. Theseclamps are made of two opposing pieces of channeled metal shaped toreceive the body member tubes and capableof being firmly drawn togetherby means of anut' and bolt. The body members are further immovablyconnected together'by'means of the front lateral brace 25 between thetwo stirrups l5, and the rear lateral brace ll between the two inclinedstruts l6: The degree ofangularity between the bodymembe'rs isdetermined by the length of these two braces.

The front wheel axle IQ and the rear wheel axle 22 act as additionalbraces between the two body members, and also serve to support the twofront and rear wheels i8 and 2i respectively, which are freely rotatablethereon. The wheels are made of solid blocks of wood suitably shaped andfitted with holes to receive the axles.

The two wheels are mountedon the rocker, as shown in the drawings; oneat the front end of the rocker and one at the rear end. They arenormally above the floor and not in contact with it. When the rocker isstationary each of the wheels may be a substantial distance above thefloor to provide ample space for comfortable rocking. However, when therocker is inclined to an angle slightly short of its over-bearing orcapsizing position, in either front or rearward direction, one of thewheels will contact the floor as shown in the Figure 5.

The width of the tread or base presented to the floor by the assembledtoy in relation to its height is such that it is physically impossiblefor any child to lean far enough over the side of the toy to cause it totip sideways.

Furthermore, longitudinal tipping is prevented by the wheels [8 and 2!which come into contact with the floor when the rocking velocity reachesa predetermined limit of safety, thus checking the rocking action andpreventing the toy from being rocked over on its back. When this occursthe rocking motion is momentarily converted into a scooter-likehorizontal motion which causes the toy to roll along the floor, on theparticular wheel 68 or 2! that happens to be touching the floor, untilthe forces involved are dissipated to the extent that a normal rockingmotion can again be resumed by the toy.

The saddle member, broadly indicated by the reference numeral 30 in theFigure 1, consists of a seat portion 3! made of wood or other suitablematerial which rests upon and can be moved horizontally along the trackformed by the two top portions ll of the opposed body members Ill. Theseat can be immovably positionedby means of the two seat clamps 32. Theseat clamps 32 are carriage bolts which pass through holes in the seatand then through channeled pieces of metal which are shaped to receivethe tubular top members. When the bolts are tightened, the seat is drawntightly down upon and firmly fixed to the top portions II. Thisadjustable feature enables children with various leg lengths to use thetoy with safety and comfort, and also extends the useful life of the toysince it can be fitted to the child as he grows.

The head 33 is of plywood or other suitable material about three-fourthinch thick and securely attached to the front of the seat portion 3|.The head is cut in the shape of and painted to simulate a ducks head,although it should be understood that any other appropriate design maybe used. A handle bar 34 passes through a hole in the head 33 and isimmovably aflixed therein.

Having thus disclosed the invention in its preferred form, it should beunderstood that the invention as disclosed and illustrated is not to beconstrued in a limited sense as there may be other forms ormodifications of the invention which also come within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A rocking toy, comprising in combination,

two opposed rockable body members attached together, the said bodymembers having front and rear wheels and a stirrup portion therebetween,each of the body members formed of a single length of metal bent to forma horizontal top portion, inclined front and rear end portions, a curvedbottom portion and a lateral stirrup portion, and a saddle membermounted on the body member.

2. A rocking toy, comprising in combination, two opposed rockable bodymembers attached together, the said body members having front and rearwheels and a stirrup portion therebetween, each of the body membersformed of a single length of metal bent to form a horizontal topportion, inclined front and rear end portions, a curved bottom portionand a lateral stirrup portion, and a saddle member mounted on the bodymember, the said saddle member having a head portion including a handlebar and being adjustably movable on the body member.

3. In a rocking toy, a body member, comprising, a unitary bar-likeelement having end portions and a central portion therebetween, thecentral portion being bent to form a rocker, one of the end portionsbent to form a stirrup and attached to the rocker, the other of the endportions bent to form a strut and attached to the rocker.

4. In a rocking toy, a body member, comprising in combination, abar-like element bent to form a rocker having saddle and stirrupportions, the said rocker also having front and rear ends, and a wheelmounted on each of said ends, the said 1 wheels being spaced from thefloor when the rocker is in a normal or stationary position andseparately in contact therewith and rollable thereon when the rocker isinclined at an angle slightly short of its capsizing position.

HERBERT KUPPIN.

REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain July 24,1935 Number

